초록 ▼

A sealing device and method are described herein that can be used to manufacture a hermetically sealed glass package. In one embodiment, the hermetically sealed glass package is suitable to protect thin film devices which are sensitive to the ambient environment (e.g., oxygen, moisture). Some exampl

A sealing device and method are described herein that can be used to manufacture a hermetically sealed glass package. In one embodiment, the hermetically sealed glass package is suitable to protect thin film devices which are sensitive to the ambient environment (e.g., oxygen, moisture). Some examples of such glass packages are organic emitting light diode (OLED) displays, sensors, and other optical devices. The present invention is demonstrated using an OLED display as an example.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method for manufacturing a glass package, said method comprising the steps of: using a heat source to direct a beam towards a frit which along with at least one light emitting device is located between two substrate plates;moving the heat source or the two substrate plates such that the beam mo

1. A method for manufacturing a glass package, said method comprising the steps of: using a heat source to direct a beam towards a frit which along with at least one light emitting device is located between two substrate plates;moving the heat source or the two substrate plates such that the beam moves at a substantially constant speed on a sealing line of said two substrate plates, where said sealing line includes said frit, a plurality of regions free of electrodes, and a plurality of regions occupied by electrodes all of which are located between said two substrate plates;modulating a power of the heat source when moving the beam at the substantially constant speed such that the beam imparts sufficient heat source energy to said frit to cause said frit to form a hermetic seal which connects said two substrate plates, andchanging the speed that the beam moves along the sealing line on said two substrate plates in response to the power to the heat source reaching a maximum or a minimum power capacity, wherein the beam continues to impart sufficient heat source energy to said frit to cause said frit to form the hermetic seal which connects said two substrate platesfurther comprising the step of synchronizing both the moving step and the modulating step so that the power of the heat source can be controlled to change in a linear or non-linear fashion as is needed at predetermined points along the sealing line depending on whether or not the beam is currently located over the electrodes between said two substrate plates and depending on whether or not the beam is currently located over a curved portion of the sealing line on said two substrate plates. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said synchronizing step further includes a step of utilizing a motion encoder system which enables the power of the heat source to be changed with a spatial resolution that is higher than a motion resolution wherein a plurality of power control changes can be implemented while the beam is making a single point-to-point move along the sealing line on said two substrate plates. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said synchronizing step further includes utilizing a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) system which enables the power of the heat source to be changed with a spatial resolution that is higher than a motion resolution wherein a plurality of power control changes can be implemented while the beam is making a single point-to-point move along the sealing line on said two substrate plates. 4. A device for sealing a glass package, said device comprising: a platform on which there is placed an unsealed glass package which is made-up of a frit and at least one light emitting device that are located between two substrate plates; a computer; and a heat source, wherein said computer processes instructions stored therein to facilitate the following:directing the heat source to emit a beam towards said frit; moving the heat source or the two substrate plates such that the beam moves at a substantially constant speed on a sealing line of said two substrate plates, where said sealing line includes said frit, a plurality of regions free of electrodes, and a plurality of regions occupied by electrodes all of which are located between said two substrate plates;modulating a power of the heat source when moving the beam at the substantially constant speed such that the beam imparts sufficient heat source energy to said frit to cause said frit to form a hermetic seal which connects said two substrate plates then changing the speed that the beam moves along the sealing line on said two substrate plates in response to the power to the heat source reaching a maximum or a minimum power capacity so that the beam continues to impart sufficient heat source energy to said frit to cause said frit to form the hermetic seal which connects said two substrate plates,wherein said computer facilitates synchronizing the moving operation and the modulating operation so that the power of the heat source can be controlled to change in a linear or non-linear fashion as is needed at predetermined points along the sealing line depending on whether or not the beam is currently located over the electrodes between said two substrate plates and depending on whether or not the beam is currently located over a curved portion of the sealing line on said two substrate plates. 5. The device of claim 4, wherein said computer facilitates the synchronizing operation by interfacing with a motion encoder system which enables said computer to change the power of the heat source with a spatial resolution that is higher than a motion resolution wherein a plurality of power control changes can be implemented when the beam is making a single point-to-point move along the sealing line of said two substrate plates. 6. The device of claim 4, wherein said computer facilitates the synchronizing operation by interfacing with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) system which enables said computer to change the power of the heat source with a spatial resolution that is higher than a motion resolution wherein a plurality of power control changes can be implemented while the beam is making a single point-to-point move along the sealing line on said two substrate plates. 7. A method for manufacturing a glass package, said method comprising the steps of: using a heat source to direct a beam through a light focusing unit and towards a frit which along with at least one light emitting device is located between two substrate plates;moving the heat source or the two substrate plates such that the beam moves at a substantially constant speed on a sealing line of said two substrate plates, where said sealing line includes said frit, a plurality of regions free of electrodes, and a plurality of regions occupied by electrodes all of which are located between said two substrate plates;modulating a power of the heat source when moving the beam at a substantially constant speed such that the beam imparts sufficient heat source energy to said frit to cause said frit to form a hermetic seal which connects said two substrate plates, wherein the light focusing unit provides the beam with a power density; andcontrolling the light focusing unit at the output of the heat source to adjust the power density of the beam in response to the power to the heat source reaching a maximum or a minimum power capacity, wherein the beam continues to impart sufficient heat source energy to said frit to cause said frit to form the hermetic seal which connects said two substrate plates. 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of synchronizing both the moving step and the modulating step so that the power of the heat source can be controlled to change in a linear or non-linear fashion as is needed at predetermined points along the sealing line depending on whether or not the beam is currently located over the electrodes between said two substrate plates and depending on whether or not the beam is currently located over a curved portion of the sealing line on said two substrate plates. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said synchronizing step further includes a step of utilizing a motion encoder system which enables the power of the heat source to be changed with a spatial resolution that is higher than a motion resolution wherein a plurality of power control changes can be implemented while the beam is making a single point-to-point move along the sealing line on said two substrate plates. 10. The method of claim 8, wherein said synchronizing step further includes utilizing a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) system which enables the power of the heat source to be changed with a spatial resolution that is higher than a motion resolution wherein a plurality of power control changes can be implemented while the beam is making a single point-to-point move along the sealing line on said two substrate plates. 11. The method of claim 7, wherein said moving step further includes an overlapping moving step where the movement of the beam begins at a start point on the sealing line of said two substrate plates and then passes over the sealing line around a perimeter of said two substrate plates and then passes over the start point on the sealing line and over a certain portion of the sealing line again so as to ensure sufficient heat source energy has been imparted to said frit to cause said frit to form the hermetic seal which connects said two substrate plates. 12. The method of claim 7, wherein said modulating step further includes utilizing a predetermined power profile to control the changing of the power of the heat source while the beam is moved along the sealing line so as to impart sufficient heat source energy to said frit to cause said frit to form the hermetic seal which connects said two substrate plates. 13. The method of claim 7, wherein said power modulating step further includes utilizing a feedback mechanism to control the changing of the power of the heat source while the beam is moved along the sealing line so as to impart sufficient heat source energy to said frit to cause said frit to form the hermetic seal which connects said two substrate plates.